Headlamp and door assembly



NOV. 20, 1956 J L HEADLAMP AND DOOR ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 8, 1953 ATTORNE NOV. 20, 1956 H J EARL HEADLAMP AND DOOR ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 8, 1953 INVENTOR lgycfzfbrf BY g g ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,771,542 HEADLAMP AND noon ASSEMBLY Harley J. Earl, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware This invention relates to a headlamp and door assembly and more particularly to a door assembly adapted for use with a recessed type headlamp.

The present trend in motor vehicle design to sports models and sharply streamlined configurations has made it necessary to mount the headlamps in recessed relationship to the front surface of the fender or other body portion and at the same time maintain the streamline of the vehicle. In an attempt to solve this problem, the art has used a lens member conforming to the vehicle contour. This lens was either an additional element to the lighting unit lens or served as such lens in addition to completing the streamline of the vehicle. In the latter instance, the structures were complex, expensive and inefficient. In the former instance, the supplementary front lens acted to distort the beam pattern of the lighting unit unless special and expensive compensating optical design measures were adopted.

In view of the fact that the automotive industry has today standardized on the sealed beam type lighting unit having a specially designed lens formed as an integral part of .the reflector, the use of a supplementary lens for completing the vehicle streamline would result in undesirable distortion of the beam pattern unless expensive compensating designs were adopted. Likewise, the complex design of the mountings disclosed in the prior art makes the ready removal of the door assembly for lamp adjustment and other purposes difficult.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a simple and inexpensive door assembly having substantially no disruptive effect on the beam pattern for use with builtin headlamps.

It is another object of my invention to provide a door assembly adapted for use with headlamps mounted in streamline vehicles.

It is another object of my invention to provide a door assembly adapted for quick and simple removal from the vehicle.

To attain these objects, I provide a finish ring removably attached to a spacer element and forming a door assembly. The assembly is adapted to be supported within the vehicle headlamp aperture and is provided with a grille having a surface contour matching that of the vehicle body.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of the front portion of a motor vehicle employing the door assembly of my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a detail (as broadly shown in Fig. l) of the headlamp and door assembly of my invention.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the upper support bracket taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the support bracket taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Patented Nov. 20, 1956 ice Figure 5 is a front view of the door assembly of my invention.

4 Figure 6 is a sectional view of the door assembly taken on line 66 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the means for attaching thefinish ring to the spacer element taken on line 77 of Figure 5.

Referring now to Figure 1 there is shown an automobile 1 having a sharply streamlined front portion. The front surface of the fenderz is broken to provide an aperture for mounting a standard ball and socketsealed beam type headlamp 3 therein and the door assembly 4 is positioned in the aperture to complete the streamline of the vehicle. As shown in Figures 2 and 5, the aperture in fender 2 is generally elliptical in shape though it is readily understandable that this will vary in accordance with the configuration of the fender. The headlamp 3 is mounted within the aperture by any suitable means well known to the art. As shown in the drawings, the headlamp is removably secured within the aperture by means of a mounting flange 5 formed as an integral part of the fender 2.

Figures 2, 5 and 6 show the door assembly 4 as made up of a finish ring 7 secured to the spacer 9, a wire grille 11 being clamped therebetween. Finish ring 7 is made of any suitable material, i. e. zinc diecast having a bright metal finish on its outer surface, and is of such configuration as to blend-in flush with the vehicle surface about the headlamp aperture. Tubular spacer 9 is formed of any suitable material, i. e. cast metal, sheet metal stamping, etc., and has the general configuration of an obliquely truncated cylinder, the outer end 13 being formed to abut the inner surface of ring 7. The inner end 15 is formed with a groove 17 in which a resilient sealing gasket 19 is seated for cooperation with the lighting unit retaining ring 21 to accomplish the weatherseal of the headlamp.

Finish ring 7 is detachably secured to spacer 9, best shown in Figure 7, by means of a plurality of spacedapart bosses 23 formed on the inner surface of ring 7 and cooperating with the complementary bosses 25 formed on the outer surface of spacer 9, the two sets of bosses being bolted together. However, it is to be understood that any suitable means may be used to detach ably secure the ring 7 to spacer 9.

As shown in Figure 7, wire grille 11 is clamped between the ring 7 and spacer 9 and may thus be readily removed from the door assembly if desired. Grille 11 is formed as a separate element of such configuration as to blend in with the contour of the vehicle body. In this manner, the sharply streamlined styling of the vehicle is maintained without any substantial disruption of the desired beam pattern obtained from the specially designed lighting unit recessed within the body.

The door assembly 4 is mounted in the aperture in fender 2 in such manner as to be firmly secured therein and at the same time permit its ready removal and installation. As shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, the assembly is pivotally secured within the aperture at th top portion thereof. An attaching and locating lug 27 is secured to the inner surface of ring 7 and has a rearwardly projecting tang 29 which cooperates with a bracket 31 shown as secured to the upper portion of headlamp 3. It should be noted, however, that bracket 31 may be located with equal effectiveness on the inner surface of fender 2. The assembly 4 is secured at the bottom by means of a screw 33 having threaded attachment through ring 7 with mounting flange 5 in the headlamp aperture in fender 2. It should be understood that any suitable means such as a mounting bracket secured to the inner surface of fender 2 may be used with equal effectiveness. It should be noted that it is but a simple matter to locate and position the assembly 4 in the fender aperture by reason of the provision of lug 27 and bracket 31.

It is thus seen from the above description that a simple and readily removable door assembly has been provided which is effective to complete the streamline of th fender without interfering with the beam pattern of the headlamp. The installation of the door assembly 4 within the aperture in fender 2 is simply accomplished, after having assembled the spacer '9 to the finish ring 7 with the grille 11 clamped therebetween, by locating tang 29 in support bracket 31 and securing the bottom portion of the ring 7 to the mounting flange by means of screw 33. In this manner the headlamp aperture in fender 2 is finished off in a simple manner to present a clean streamline appearance to the vehicle contour. It is apparent that the removal of the assembly is accomplished by the reverse procedure when it is desired to either clean the lens or remove the grille 11.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. A headlamp door assembly adapted for use with a standard sealed beam headlamp mounted within an aperture in the streamlined body of a vehicle comprising a tubular spacer element obliquely truncated on its outer end and adapted to conceal the headlamp .mounting and adjusting structure, a groove formed on the inner end of said spacer, a resilient sealing gasket positioned in said groove for establishing a weatherseal with the headlamp, a finish ring adapted to blend-in flush with i the vehicle surface about the headlamp aperture, the outer end of said spacer being secured to the inner surface of said ring, and means secured to the upper portion of the assembly for supporting the assembly in the aperture, the assembly being adapted to be removably secured within the aperture.

2. A headlamp door assembly adapted for use with a standard sealed beam headlamp mounted within an aperture in the streamlined front body portion of a vehicle comprising a tubular spacer element obliquely truncated on its outer end and adapted to conceal the headlamp mounting and adjusting structure, a resilient sealing gasket positioned on the inner end of said spacer for establishing a weatherseal with the headlamp, a finish ring adapted to blend-in flush with the vehicle surface about the headlamp aperture, the outer end of said spacer being secured to the inner surface of said ring, a grille positioned across the open face of said ring and having a surface contour substantially the same as that of the finish ring on which it is mounted, an attaching lug secured to the upper portion of the assembly for supporting the assembly in the aperture, the assembly being adapted to be removably secured within the aperture.

3. A headlamp door assembly adapted for use with a standard sealed beam headlamp mounted within an aperture in the streamlined front body portion of a vehicle comprising a generally cylindrical spacer element obliquely truncated on its outer end and adapted to conceal the headlamp mounting and adjusting structure, a circumferential groove on the inner end of said spacer, a resilient sealing gasket positioned in said groove for establishing a weatherseal with the headlamp, a finish ring adapted to blend-in flush with the vehicle surface about the headlamp aperture, the outer end of said spacer being secured to the inner surface of said ring, a grille clamped between said spacer and said ring and having a surface contour substantially the same as that of the finish ring on which 4 it is mounted, and an attaching lug secured to the upper portion of said ring for supporting the assembly in the aperture, the assembly being adapted to be removably secured within the aperture.

4. A headlamp door assembly adapted for use with a standard sealed beam headlamp mounted within an aperture in the streamlined front body portion of a motor vehicle comprising a generally cylindrical spacer element obliquely truncated on its outer end and adapted to conceal the headlamp mounting and adjusting structure, a circumferential groove formed on the inner end of said spacer, a resilient sealing gasket positioned in said groove for establishing a weatherseal with the headlamp, a'finish ring adapted to blend-in flush with the vehicle surface about the headlamp aperture, the outer end of said spacer being in abutment with and detachably secured to the inner surface of said ring, a wire grille removably clamped between said spacer and said ring and having a surface contour substantially the same as that of the finish ring on which it is mounted, and an attaching lug secured to the upper portion of said ring for pivotally supporting the assembly in the aperture, the assembly being adapted to be removably secured within the aperture.

5. The combination with a streamlined vehicle body having an aperture in the front portion thereof, of a headlamp adjustably secured within said body in alignment with said aperture, a tubular spacer element obliquely truncated on its outer end positioned within said aperture about said headlamp and adapted to conceal the headlamp mounting and adjusting structure, a groove formed on the inner end of said spacer, a resilient sealing gasket positioned in said groove for establishing a weatherseal with the headlamp, a finish ring adapted to blend-in flush with the vehicle surface about the headlamp aperture, the outer end of said spacer being secured to the inner surface of said ring to form an assembly, means secured to the upper portion of the assembly for supporting the assembly in the aperture, and means in said aperture for cooperation with said first-mentioned means, the assembly being adapted to be removably secured within the aperture.

6. In combination, a streamlined vehicle body having an aperture in the front portion thereof, a headlamp adjustably secured within said body in alignment with said aperture, a generally cylindrical spacer element obliquely truncated on its outer end positioned within said aperture about said headlamp and adapted to conceal the headlamp mounting and adjusting structure, a circumferential groove formedon the inner end of said spacer, a resilient sealing gasket positioned in said groove for establishing a weatherseal with the headlamp, a finish ring adapted to blend-in flush with the vehicle surface about the headlamp aperture, the outer end of said spacer being in abutment with and detachably secured to the inner surface of said ring, a wire grille removably clamped between said spacer and said ring and having a surface contour substantially the same as that of the body portion in which it is mounted, an attaching lug secured to the upper por tion of said ring for pivotally supporting said ring and spacer in the aperture, a support bracket positioned on said headlamp for cooperation with said lug, and means on said body for removably securing said ring and spacer in said aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,680,804 Goldman et a1. June 8, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 790,081 France 1935 

